What Are the Different Ways
to Collaborate?
In the nonprofit sector there are various forms of collaboration, ranging
in formality, actors and purposes. Some of the most common types of
collaboration include networks, coalitions, movements, strategic
alliances, strategic co-funding, public private partnerships and collective
impact initiatives. It can sometimes be difficult to differentiate among
them and know which might be the best fit for certain situations. This
piece defines these forms and offers guidance for grantmakers on when
to use each, along with examples and considerations.
While not an exhaustive list, the following table breaks down some of the most
common forms of collaboration in the nonprofit sector and provides guidance
on when to use it, examples and considerations. It is important to note that
these types of collaboration are not mutually exclusive — a collaborative effort
may include two or more types at once. Also, each of these entails some level
of formality, although the degree of formality varies. Usually, less formal
collaborations, partnerships and/or intentional relationship building are
important precursors to more sustained forms of collaboration to build a
baseline of trust and common understanding.
Common Types of Collaboration
Some of the most common types of collaboration, listed in level of formality
from low to high and with definitions, are as follows:
• Networks: People connected by relationships, which can take on a
variety of forms, both formal and informal. 1
o Example: Barr Fellows Program
•
Coalitions: Organizations whose members commit to an agreed-on
purpose and shared decision making to influence an external
institution or target, while each member organization maintains its
own autonomy. 2
1 For more about different types of networks, see Catalyzing Networks for Social Change: A
Funder’s Guide, by Diana Scearce (Washington, D.C.: GEO and Monitor Institute, 2011).
2 TCC Group, “What Makes an Effective Coalition?,” 2011.
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o Example: Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions
•
Movements: Collective action with a common frame and long-term
vision for social change, characterized by grassroots mobilization that
works to address a power imbalance.
o Example: Caring Across Generations
•
Strategic Alliances: Partnership among organizations working in
pursuit of a common goal while maintaining organizational
independence. This could mean aligning programs or administrative
functions or adopting complementary strategies. 3
o Example: Arts + Response
•
Strategic Co-Funding: Partnership among organizations that work in
pursuit of a common goal. This could mean aligning programs or
administrative functions or adopting complementary strategies.
o Example: Home for Good
•
Public-Private Partnerships: Partnerships formed between
government and private sector organizations to deliver specific
services or benefits.
o Example: Cambridge Energy Alliance
•
Collective Impact Initiatives: Long-term commitments by a group of
important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for
solving a specific social problem. 4
o Example: Shape Up Sommerville
3 David La Piana, “Merging Wisely,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2010.
4 John Kania & Mark Kramer, “Collective Impact,” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter
2011.
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Type
Networks
Participants When to use it
Nonprofits,
foundations,
government
agencies,
businesses or
individuals
•
•
Coalitions
Nonprofits,
foundations,
government
agencies,
businesses or
individuals
•
•
Movements
Nonprofits,
•
foundations,
government or
businesses can
•
contribute to
social
movements, but
the people most
affected by the
issue(s) must
drive them.
Considerations
Networks can connect
•
people to allow easy
flow of and access to
information; align people •
to develop/ spread
ideas; and/or foster joint
action for specific
outcomes.
Networks can be helpful
when you don’t have a
clear set of outcomes
but rather an
understanding that
linking to the work of
others can advance
your and their
objectives.
Coalitions work well
when participants are
working to advance
discrete outcomes on a
single issue, for
example a specific
policy change
Use a coalition
approach when you
want to mobilize others
to align their work
towards the desired
outcome.
•
•
Movements can address •
complex, systemic
challenges.
They are often multisector or multi-issue
initiatives and engage
beneficiaries. Funders
should not drive but can
support efforts already
in place.
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Networks require
long timeframe, lots
of flexibility.
The outcomes of
the work are not
always clear, so
funders should be
comfortable with
contributing to the
overall success of
the network, not
being able to claim
credit for discrete
results.
Cross-sector
collaboration is
complex.
The issues
coalitions focus on
often require long
timeframes and
flexibility.
Movements require
long timeframes
and flexibility, must
be a bottom-up, not
a top-down
approach to
shaping the
agenda.
Type
Strategic
alliances
Participants When to use it
Considerations
Nonprofits or
foundations
•
Consider strategic
•
alliances for nonprofits
or funders with
complementary
missions, ideally with an
established relationship
and/or prior history of
working together in
some way.
•
Strategic alliances
will be most likely
to succeed when
the organizations
involved are
shaping how the
collaboration will
work.
Funder-driven
alliances typically
don’t work.
Grantmakers,
•
Strategic co-funding
•
structures address the
flow of resources to the
issue or cause that the
grantmaker wants to
address.
It can be a good option
when pursuing a
•
common vision and
funding the same
grantees, or when a
funder wants to tap the
wisdom and experience
of other funders.
Strategic cofunding can vary
structurally, with
some forms
allowing more
autonomy than
others.
In any form,
funders should
ensure that the
structures they are
putting in place
indeed are
reducing the
burden on grantees
and add significant
value beyond
funding.
Consider public-private •
partnerships as an
option to expand impact
by aligning public and
private resources and
•
programs. or to address
local challenges.
Working with
government and
the private sector
adds complexity.
These partnerships
require a long
timeframe and buyin from leadership
within each entity.
Strategic co- including
private
funding
philanthropy,
corporate
funders and/or
government
•
Government
•
agencies
Publicpartnering with
private
nonprofits,
partnerships foundations and
businesses
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Type
Participants When to use it
Collective
Impact
initiatives
Nonprofits,
foundations,
government
agencies,
businesses or
individuals.
•
•
Considerations
Use Collective Impact
•
for situations when the
issue requires systems
change (e.g., changes
in policy, changes in
public and philanthropic
funding, changes in
cultural norms).
In addition, Collective
Impact efforts require a
significant number of
both leaders and
community members to
come together to
•
achieve change.
Collective Impact
initiatives must
meet five criteria: 1)
common agenda;
2) shared
measurement
system; 3) mutually
reinforcing
activities; 4)
continuous
communication; 5)
backbone
organization.
Collective Impact
efforts tend to have
at least dozens (if
not more) of crosssector partners
coming together,
with multiple
cascading levels of
collaboration.
Conclusion
Collaboration with and among grantees and other key partners is central to the
solutions we as grantmakers seek to advance. There are many forms these
collaborations can take, ranging from informal to formal. Fostering the right
type of partnership at any given moment in time requires reflection and
dialogue, as well as attention to relationship building and communication.
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